Chapter 270
Itinerary (道筋 Michisuji) is the 270th chapter of manga, Baby Steps. Characters in Order of Appearance *Eiichiro Maruo *Soji Ike *Ronnie Medberry *Atsushi Taira *Alex O'Brien *Krishna Ramesh Summary Ike has managed to handle Eiichiro's attacks easily during their practice. Through Ike and Atsushi, Eiichiro learns his schedule for the next 2-month stay in Florida. Synopsis Anyhow, it turns out that the bit of practice Ike mentioned has Ike covering his half of the court, while the other half is split between Ei-chan and Ike's coach. Ei-chan notes that even though it's two on one, Ike's fielding all the shots perfectly. Ei-chan also has to attack, so even though he'd like to watch Ike's movements more, his attention is caught by the ball's elongation, which was too intense, so he can't keep Ike in his field of vision. Seeing how well he (Ei-chan) can handle such balls was one reason he'd wanted to meet Ike. Ei-chan tries 1/64 control and Ike handles it "easily." Ei-chan tries a jump shot, which again Ike handles "easily." At the end of the practice, apparently nothing had worked at all against Ike. Ike asks if Ei-chan is okay. Ei-chan says normally he's fine with just that much; however, when Ike hits the ball, Ei-chan's field of vision narrows to the bound immediately following, and he's had to use his normal levels of concentration and leg strength. Ei-chan brings up the All-Japan championship and how he'd heard from Coach Aoi about the negotiations for Ike's participation. Ike says he's never participated, so he'd like to, but the championship won't contribute to his ATP rank, so due to contracts and various obligations, he doesn't know if he'll be able to. Ei-chan comments that even the No.1 JOP (Ike) wants to participate. Ike says that it's more that it's because there are a fair number of apparently fun guys in Japan whom he can't readily play with over in the States. Ei-chan asks if there's someone specific whom Ike wants to play against. Ike is noncommittal but adds that if he's right on the money with Ei-chan, he'll probably initiate a regular game. Ike takes Ei-chan to his home, and shows him around. Ei-chan will be using the guest room. Ike invites Ei-chan to use the kitchen, even though he rarely does since he usually eats out or at the academy. For part-time work, Ike asks if doing some cleaning, laundry, and shopping is acceptable to Ei-chan. Naturally, Ei-chan accepts. As Ei-chan unpacks, Ike confirms that Ei-chan doesn't have a driver's license. He tells Ei-chan he (Ike) is off tomorrow and has various errands to handle starting from early in the morning, but they're 15km from the academy. Ei-chan assures Ike it's no problem since he runs every morning. Ike accepts that and adds that he's not good at housework, so Ei-chan will save him trouble. Ei-chan says he'll do his best to be as useful as he can, so the first thing Ike asks is for Ei-chan to drop the formality. The next day Atsushi meets Ei-chan, and hands him a staff card since Ei-chan will be working as staff outside of his practice time. Atsushi's supposed to act as mentor and show him the ropes. He briefs Ei-chan on what the work entails: mainly management of the courts and balls, but maybe serving as an assistant in lessons for the general public, serving balls or as a practice partner. Then Alex and Krishna arrive. When Alex asks Ei-chan how he's been, Ei-chan says he's come to practice. Alex says since Ei-chan has two months, they should play somewhere and give Alex a chance at revenge for half a year earlier. Atsushi leads Eichan away, then remembers to hand over Ei-chan's weekly schedule. He tells Ei-chan it incorporates Ronnie Medbury's feedback, then has to explain who Ronnie is. When Ronnie was playing, he reached No.4 in the world, and after he switched to coaching, he became a master who's guided a lot of top pros in the world. Atsushi attributes Ike's recent rise in the ranks to Ronnie's coaching. The rumor is that only those hopefuls who have the potential to reach the Top 10 get to meet Ronnie firsthand, so for Ei-chan to even get a bit of advice is super lucky for Ei- chan. Ronnie's recommendation was for Ei-chan to try using this new facility that's been added since Ei-chan first came: the eye training room. Navigation Category:Volume 28 Category:Training at IMG Academy Arc